


A Special Kind of Crazy

by Sreya



Series: The Girl from the Coffee Shop [2]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-08
Updated: 2015-03-08
Packaged: 2018-03-17 00:07:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3507728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sreya/pseuds/Sreya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Skye's been arrested by SHIELD after holding up a coffee shop with an Asgardian weapon and spilling the beans about her search for her parents. Is she going to the Fridge, or will someone decide her talents are better used elsewhere? (Continuation of Hostages and Coffee)</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Special Kind of Crazy

**Author's Note:**

> Oh my gosh, I seriously was not going to continue this story. But then some of the reviewers were asking what would happen to Skye, and my muse decided to get more creative... so I guess this is turning into an AU series now. This particular piece might not be as funny, though I'm hoping later pieces will be again. And I tried to play with Ward's perspective a bit to at least keep up the snark.

Ward dragged a hand down his face as he shut the interrogation room door behind him in SHIELD’s LA office complex. The woman from the coffee shop - Skye (he snorted again, could she _be_ more obvious about a fake name?) - was going to drive him up the wall. Despite her overshare in the shop, she’d clammed up since he brought her into custody. After some cajoling and manipulation he’d figured out from the dribs of information that she was working with the Rising Tide hackers and that’s how she’d found the Asgardian circlet. But she was locked up tight when it came to her contacts and access codes with the group. He was definitely going to have to try a different angle with her, but first he really needed some coffee. No, scratch that - he’d just stick for water right now. He’d had more than enough coffee in that damned Starbucks.  
  
Walking around the corner, he was surprised to see John Garrett leaning up against the counter with the interrogation room monitors. He could see Skye on the monitor behind him playing with her hair. “John. I wasn’t expecting you to stick around for this one.”  
  
“Finished up with my business earlier than expected. Good thing, too - you’ve got a live one there!” Garrett smirked and followed Ward to the kitchenette.  
  
Ward just rolled his eyes in response. “A real nut job, more like it. Seriously, stealing an alien artifact and holding hostages just to get into a computer server to look for your _parents_?” He snorted. “Too bad there aren’t any computers at the Fridge.”  
  
“Yeah, it is too bad.” Garrett pulled a beer out of the refrigerator and popped off the cap. “She’s crazy, but that’s my kind of crazy.”  
  
Ward looked at him out of the corner of his eye. “You’re not thinking…”  
  
Garrett just grinned at him. “You were ready to change tactics, right? How ‘bout we give her a complete 180?”  
  
Following him back to the interrogation room, Ward couldn’t shake the sinking feeling that this was going to go very badly for him.  
  


* * *

  
Back in the room with Skye, Garrett makes a show of unplugging the camera in the corner. There were other, more hidden cameras of course, but they’d shut those off before coming in. Whatever Garrett was planning would definitely be one of his “off the books” ideas. Ward leaned comfortably against the wall, watching Skye as she watched this stranger pull out the chair across from her and sit down with a smile. It was hours past midnight, and she looked exhausted but the spark of intelligence and defiance still burned in her eyes.  
  
“Hi, I’m John.”  
  
“Hi, John,” Skye snarked back, “I’m Skye, and it’s been 8 hours since my last use of an extra-terrestrial device. You gonna be my sponsor?”  
  
He chuckled lightly. “Something like that, maybe.” He leaned in a bit, turning up the charm. “Heard you got yourself into a bit of trouble.”  
  
Skye’s eyes flickered to Ward then back to Garrett. “Something like that,” she echoed.  
  
“I watched the video from the shop,” Garrett leaned back and propped an elbow casually on the back of his chair. “I have to say I’m impressed. Our scientists can’t figure out how you got the damn thing to work.”  
  
She shrugged a bit, but didn’t say anything.  
  
“But that’s not what _really_ impressed me.” His smile displayed his teeth. “You’ve got balls, kid, putting yourself up against SHIELD like that.”  
  
“Thanks, but yuck.” Skye looked over at Ward with an expression of _Is this guy serious?_ Ward just smirked at her.  
  
“After all, not many people are willing to go up against them.” Garrett dropped the smile a bit. “Some of us are, though.”  
  
 _That_ got her attention, though it was clear she was suspicious. “ _Us_?” she asked. “What’s that supposed to mean?”  
  
“Just that not everyone thinks SHIELD is all that it’s cracked up to be. _Protecting the people from the things they aren’t ready to hear_ and all that bullshit.” Garrett snorted. “Protecting their own bureaucratic asses, more like.”  
  
She stayed silent, watching him warily.  
  
“Yeah, I’ve seen your story before. Redacting and modifying files to protect someone’s reputation, or hide some damned mistake they’ve made. Hell, I’ve _been_ the story before.” He leaned forward and pulled down his turtleneck, giving her a glimpse of his burn scars. To her credit, she just examined them disinterestedly without flinching. “See this? Op went south, and when I called for backup they said nobody could come in because it would expose SHIELD’s involvement. Fuckin’ desk jockies left me for dead. It was sheer luck I got myself out of their alive.”  
  
Ward kept his face impassive - that certainly wasn’t where those _particular_ scars had come from. But he recognized the shadow of Bosnia in the story. More important, he saw it hit home with Skye - her cool eyes sparked with sympathy and, better, what Garrett was going for - anger at SHIELD.  
  
“They’d do that to their own people?” she asked softly. Garrett leaned back and effected a heavy sigh, nodding his head. “Then why keep working for them? Why not get out?”  
  
Inwardly, Ward tensed. This was where Garrett would be throwing out the line, and he’d either hook her… or sink her. After this moment, the Fridge was no longer an option.  
  
Garrett was watching the young woman just as carefully. “Can’t change anything from the outside. People leave, they keep doin’ what they’re doing. But maybe, hopefully soon, that’ll all change.” He leaned in. “There’s a group of us, working to change the system. Get vital information out to where it’s needed. Make sure helpful technology isn’t just squirreled away or destroyed. We’re not ready to work in the open, but we’re growing. And we could use someone with your skills.”  
  
She furrowed her brows. “Sounds kind of dangerous.”  
  
“No more dangerous than stealing an Asgardian weapon and holding half a dozen people hostage in the middle of LA.”  
  
“Good point,” she admitted, letting out a breath. “Look, I get it what you’re doing. But I don’t exactly see how I could help.”  
  
“We -“ he gestured at Ward, “have the clearance to a lot of the information and tech. But even we can’t get into everything, and even when we can get it, it’s tough to pass along without being traced. You, however,” Garrett smiled again, “you’re amazing at covering your tracks. You weren’t kidding when you told Ward here you’d made yourself disappear. We couldn’t find a trace of you anywhere on the net. Nothing. And that _never_ happens.”  
  
Skye smiled with pride. “What can I say? I’m _weirdly_ good with computers.”  
  
“You certainly are,” Garrett praised her. Ward imagined himself gagging at the saccharine tone. _Get on with it, John._ “So, you have the skills we need to get information out. And we have the access to get you in. Sounds like a mutually beneficial arrangement.”  
  
The woman sat quietly, studying the man across from her. She was clearly looking for anything suspicious or less than genuine from him. But Garrett was a master at projecting honesty, putting people at ease. It was something Ward admired about him and tried to emulate, but the closest he could come is feigning awkwardness, making the mark believe he was incompetent at hiding his intentions and therefore easy to read. It was hardly dignifying… but at least it worked.  
  
Right now, though, he held his breath as he waited for Skye to make up her mind. Her answer would make all the difference for what happened next. She’d either agree to help them and be on her way - or he’d be putting her in an unmarked grave by the end of the day. He sorely hoped she’d choose the former. She may have been _stupid_ , pulling off that stunt at the coffee shop, but she didn’t deserve to die for it. She met his eyes, clearly seeking his opinion on the matter. He nodded slowly, trying to encourage her to take the deal without letting any of his unease bleed through.  
  
Skye swallowed, and then asked in a low voice, “You can help me find the files I’m looking for?”  
  
“Honey,” Garrett smiled, “I’m gonna let you in on a little secret. Nothing stays buried forever.” He held out a hand. “I promise you, we’ll find your parents.”  
  
She hesitated, then slowly put her hands in his. “Then you have yourself a deal, John.”  
  
Ward briefly closed his eyes in relief.   
  


* * *

  
Getting Skye back out of the compound wasn’t difficult. Ward and Garrett led her out of the interrogation room in shackles, with Garrett loudly telling her about her upcoming “stay” at the Fridge. She’d agreed to tell them how to use the circlet, though only _after_ she was back on home turf - she may have agreed to help them out, but clearly she knew enough to protect herself from being played. Garrett just laughed and told her “Good girl.” He’d copied the files she gave him that had everything she’d found so far about her parents, promising to look for a lead inside, then said it was time for her “transfer.”  
  
They loaded her into the back of an SUV, and as Grant climbed into the driver’s seat Garrett leaned in to look at Skye. “Ward here’ll get you all set up to keep in contact with us. You’ll be working through him for now, until there’s a way to get you a little better set up.”  
  
Ward whipped his head around with his jaw dropping slightly. “John, we didn’t -“  
  
Garrett just smirked and slammed Ward’s door shut, wagging his fingers at him before turning back into the office building. Growling under his breath, Ward shifted the car in gear and pulled out of the parking garage onto the dark street.  
  
“Where to?” he snapped.  
  
“Back to the coffee shop - I’m about six blocks from there.”  
  
“You held up a Starbucks in _your own neighborhood_?” he asked. She just shrugged and smirked at him in the rearview mirror.   
  
Luckily, the roads at four in the morning were relatively empty and they made good time. Skye tried to start up a conversation a few times, irritating Ward when she didn’t take his one-word answers as a hint to _shut up_. Her cheerfulness was grating - didn’t she have any idea what she’d just escaped? What she’d just gotten herself _into_? He had very little doubt that her naiveté would get her killed within six months, by one side or the other.   
  
But once he pulled into the street she’d directed him to, he had to wonder how she hadn’t gotten herself killed already.  
  
“You live in a _van_?” he sputtered incredulously.  
  
“It’s very practical!” she defended herself. “Home’s always right around the corner, I can conduct business anywhere. Though, I’ll admit, the neighbors can suck sometimes.”  
  
Ward rolled his eyes in disbelief. On the other hand, if she more or less lived on the streets, she had to have some sense of self-preservation. “Hands,” he ordered, and she shoved them between the front seats so he could unlock the cuffs. They hadn’t been tight, but she still rubbed her wrists for a minute. “The info on the circlet?”  
  
“Oh, yeah, I’ll be right back.” With that, she jumped out of the SUV and hurried over to the van, unlocked it and climbed inside. Ward reluctantly followed her, pulling himself into the van when she waved him in and closed the door behind himself. It was actually a lot nicer than he’d expected from the outside - she had a very sophisticated computer system set up, complete with portable radio and satellite transmitters. She had a pile of papers shoved in a box next to the computer, which she was currently digging through. At the back was a plush sofa-slash-bed with a couple of knitted afghans and pillows with pictures of cats on them. Photographs were pinned up on the sides of the vehicle, and a couple strings of Christmas lights provided lighting.  
  
“Here we go!” she trumpeted, turning around and handing him a piece of paper. One side was full of scribblings and eraser marks, but on the other side was a series of symbols. “It’s a combination, though more like those bike locks that you have to line up the numbers just right to open it up. You put it on, then twist the bands until the symbols line up.”  
  
“How’d you figure out the combination?” he asked, studying the sheet.  
  
“Did a little digging and found an image online of a manuscript that was found in the same site as the circlet. It had enough on there to help me crack the code. A little like hacking a computer system, to be honest - just get a grasp of the operating system and who designed it, and after that it’s a piece of cake.”  
  
Ward shook his head, impressed despite himself. “Well, I know some scientists that’ll be very interested to see this. At least until the thing is locked up or destroyed.”   
  
She snickered, drawing his attention. Despite the lack of sleep and the harrowing day before, her face was full of mirth and a bit of smug pride that she’d figured out something that professional alien-artifact scientists couldn’t figure out. Again, Ward wondered just how long she’d survive, and he was surprised to find he wanted to tell her to run, just take her van and drive as far from LA as she could and drop off the grid.  
  
But they really did _need_ someone to help decrypt the files Garrett needed. And, well… so far, she’d managed to steal and _use_ Asgardian technology, held out under mildly intensive interrogation, and clearly survived the streets of Los Angeles for quite some time. He told himself firmly that she could take care of herself, and besides, she wasn’t his responsibility. Garrett, on the other hand, most definitely was.  
  
“This is the comms equipment we’ll use to keep in touch,” he said as he handed her a case from the SUV. “Keep it with you at all times. We’ll check in when we have something for you.”  
  
She nodded. “And what about getting into the SHIELD mainframe?”  
  
“That’ll take a little time. We have to mock up your arrest and wait until we’re on a new team, so no one recognizes you. Then Garrett can bring you on as a computer consultant or something. In the meantime, we’ll let you know what you can do.”  
  
“Sir, yes sir,” she mocked with a crooked salute.  
  
He sighed and climbed out of the van. Before closing the door, he poked his head in. “In the meantime, try to stay out of trouble. This’ll only work if you stay _off_ SHIELD’s radar.”  
  
She nodded more solemnly this time. “Right. And Ward,” she surged forward and grabbed his wrist to keep him from closing the door just yet. “Thank you. I can’t say how much it means that you guys are helping me like this.”  
  
His stomach rolled a bit. “Yeah, well, don’t thank us yet.” With that, he pulled his hand free and shut the door to the van. Once back in the SUV, he leaned his head back and allowed himself a moment to just close his eyes and sigh deeply. This wasn’t going to be easy.  
  
 _If it was easy, it wouldn’t be any fun!_  
  
Shaking Garrett’s voice from his head, Ward pulled out to drive back to the LA base.


End file.
